New Hires or Retention: Which Costs More?

More and more companies are testing new techniques for expanding their visibility when sourcing candidates than ever. But at what cost?

The real challenge to recruiters comes from a shift in the job market. In the last four years, slowly, job seekers have taken control of the hiring process pitting employers against each other. The now candidate-driven job market has nearly doubled in the last four years, from 54% in 2011 to 90% in 2015.1

Should we see a shift in power allowing employers to control the job market? Not anytime soon. The competition is high and the talent is demanding. Companies are going to have to offer something more than comparable salaries and benefits moving forward.

So what can we do? Spend some time nurturing your current employees. Companies are getting so caught up fighting for new talent they are neglecting the talent pool they already won over.

On average, it takes 52 days for employers to fill an open position and in that nearly 2-month period a company will spend an average of $4,000 fill that one position.2

Filling positions, (especially hard to fill positions) is not only taking up a lot of time and expenses, but employers aren’t utilizing their resources efficiently.

It would be more effective to invest that time and money into your current employees. Reward them for being a valued member of the company. Show them you care about their education and career advancement opportunities.

The recruiting world is ever-evolving and advancements are quick to change our approach in sourcing out candidates, but numbers don’t lie. Here are a few more to consider when debating on investing more in your in-house recruiting efforts:

51% of employees are considering a new job.3

89% of Glassdoor users are either actively looking for jobs or would consider better opportunities.4

57% of Glassdoor users are employed either full-time or part-time.4

So if you’re the one in three employers concerned with voluntary exits,5 you might want to consider optimizing your recruiting efforts and start focusing more on retention.